No matter how old you are, an advance health care directive can be an important part of your estate plan. This is a powerful legal document that explains the level and extent of medical care you want if you are ever in a life-and-death situation and unable to speak for yourself.
If you don’t have an advance directive yet, you may be wondering if you should draft one. Here are three life situations that are a perfect time for someone in Little Rock to create one (or update your current one).
A new diagnosis
Learning you have a potentially fatal illness can be devastating. One thing that can help you deal with the shock and fear is to make sure you will keep control over your medical care and end-of-life decisions, no matter what happens.
Change in marital status
When you get married, you likely will want your spouse to be your agent to make sure your doctors follow the terms of your advance directive. But sometimes marriages don’t last. If you get divorced, you probably won’t be able to count on your ex to be your advocate. Keeping this part of your advance directive up to date is crucial.
A decade has passed
Even if you have not gotten married or divorced in the last few years, it can be smart to regularly review your advance directive. Your beliefs and opinions about your future care may have changed since you originally wrote it. Consider reviewing your advance healthcare directive (along with the rest of your estate plan) at least once every ten years.